Potty Training Chronicles II

Dare I say we have COMPLETED potty training (knock on wood)!  As of today Y has gone a full week without a single accident and has been waking with a dry pull-up even longer than that!

As it turns out the day after I wrote the last potty training post turned out to be a nightmare, hence the knocking on wood above.  I did so much bragging about her pottying abilities that I should have known it would blow up in my face.  To say that day was horrible would be an understatement but I'm pretty sure it was a test to see if I'd give up.  I didn't give up, in fact if anything, I became more persistent than I had been before.

It turns out that the hardest thing for her seemed to have been what she grasped the quickest originally, going #2.  She had 2 incidents with really hard stools and then it was like she was done with it and for a week or more she refused to go #2 in the potty and would wait until I was busy cooking dinner or even when she was in bed at night to finally let loose.  And then she made the mistake of her life, she clued me in on her #2 signal.  One afternoon she was watching Caillou and she came to me and asked me "can I go in my room and play by myself?"  I told her yes without even really giving it a thought but 5 minutes later it struck me as odd.  You see, she never plays in her room alone and she HATES being in their with the door closed.  So when i realized that not only was she in her room "playing" quietly but she had also shut her door, I knew something was awry.  And sure enough when I went to check on her she had pooped.  And so, that is how I realized her signal that she had to go #2.  From then on out if she went to her room and closed her door, she was doing so with the intention of pooping and so I had to increase my awareness of what she was doing and where she was at all times.  It made for a tough few days and that is when she began going a night when she was in bed but eventually I was able to teach her that her "holding it" was what made it hurt.  It took her actually going #2 when she should instead of holding it in for her to learn that it doesn't have to hurt.  I will add that having her drink half a cup of plum juice helped as well...it really works well!  We call it her "Special Juice!"

I'm so proud of my little princess!  Here's to hoping for an accident free future.